Classification: Botanical: Rosa hybrida xe2x80x98POULra014xe2x80x99. Commercial: Miniature.
The present invention constitutes a new and distinct variety of miniature rose plant which originated from a controlled crossing between xe2x80x98KORstoffeinxe2x80x99, described and illustrated in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 11,242 issued on Feb. 22, 2000 and an unnamed seedling (not patented). The two parents were crossed and the resulting seeds were planted in a controlled environment. The new variety is named xe2x80x98POULra014xe2x80x99.
The new rose may be distinguished from its seed parent, xe2x80x98KORstoffeinxe2x80x99, by the following combination of characteristics:
1. The bloom color of xe2x80x98KORstoffeinxe2x80x99 is yellow-orange, while that of xe2x80x98POULra014xe2x80x99 is lavender.
2. The petal count for xe2x80x98KORstoffeinxe2x80x99 is 25 to 30, while that of xe2x80x98POULra014xe2x80x99 is 30 to 35.
3. The bud color of xe2x80x98KORstoffeinxe2x80x99 is Red Group 52D, while that of xe2x80x98POULra014xe2x80x99 is Red-Purple Group 62D.
The new rose may be distinguished from its pollen parent, by the following combination of characteristics:
1. xe2x80x98POULra014xe2x80x99 is shorter in height than the pollen parent.
2. xe2x80x98POULra014xe2x80x99 has a general tonality of Red-Purple Group 62D, while the pollen parent has a general tonality of Red-Purple Group 69D.
The objective of the hybridization of this rose variety for commercial culture was to create a new and distinct variety with unique qualities, such as:
1. Uniform and abundant flowers;
2. Vigorous and compact growth;
3. Year-round flowering under glasshouse conditions;
4. Suitability for production from softwood cuttings in pots;
5. Durable flowers and foliage which make a variety suitable for distribution in the floral industry.
This combination of qualities is not present in previously available commercial cultivars of this type and distinguish xe2x80x98POULra014xe2x80x99 from all other varieties of which we are aware.
As part of their rose development program, L. Pernille Olesen and Mogens N. Olesen germinated the seeds from the aforementioned hybridization and conducted evaluations on the resulting seedlings in a controlled environment in Fredensborg, Denmark.
xe2x80x98POULra014xe2x80x99 was selected by the inventors as a single plant from the progeny of the hybridization in 1998.
Asexual reproduction of xe2x80x98POULra014xe2x80x99 by cuttings and traditional budding was first done by L. Pernille and Mogens N. Olesen in their nursery in Fredensborg, Denmark in Spring of 1999. This initial and other subsequent propagations conducted in controlled environments have demonstrated that the characteristics of xe2x80x98POULra014xe2x80x99 are true to type and are transmitted from one generation to the next.